I was sitting on the couch, trying to write, when the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe showed up. The ghost of Poe said, “What are you writing, my friend?”

I said a story.

The ghost of Poe said, “How is it coming along?”

I said that it was okay, but not very interesting.

The ghost of Poe said, “A story is served best when basic. To add trills and thrills for the sake of interest calls attention to the writing. The reader will lose interest and you’ll have wasted both your times.”